All language subtitles for Feuertaufe (1940) Hans Bertram.

In August 1939, Poland calls
for violence against the Reich.

Because England wants war,
Poland wants war.

Supported by promises of aid
from the Western powers,

Warsaw overreaches
its provocations against Germany.

Rydz-Smigly parades his army.

They dream of a greater Poland.

The Pilsudski-style political
megalomania is boundless.

As planned at Versailles,

Poland has built up
its peacetime strength:

30 divisions,
standing army 2 million men.

It would suit these gentlemen
just fine

if Polish tanks broke through
the Reich's borders

and drove it back to the EIbe,

to Bremen, Hannover, Kassel,
perhaps even as far as Nuremburg.

The first target is Danzig.

But Danzig is German...

was German...

and will remain German!

On August 10th,
Gauleiter Forster warns...

And Danzig can rest easy.

Adolf Hitler's Wehrmacht

are ready to take on
greater Germany's freedom fight.

The German Forces are armed.

With cheers, the old Hanseatic city

greets the training ship
Schleswig-Holstein

presenting the greatest navy.

And like a sword in the sky,
our young Luftwaffe is ready, resolved

to crush any who dare to break
the European peace.

Attention, Attention.
London here, with news in German.

Lord Halifax
has declared in Chambers

that our guarantee to Poland
is in force.

England's fleet is ready to put to sea
in a few hours.

British citizens are leaving the Reich.

Attention, Warsaw here.

Poland is defending
the freedom of all people

Danzig must go to Poland.

Hello, this is Radio Paris.

Hitler murders Europe.

One and a half million Frenchmen
are deployed against the Westwall.

London is the hub of the warmongers.

Between Downing Street
and Parliament House,

the plutocracy
let their puppets dance.

It is the fateful hour, when England
gave Poland carte blanche.

The democrats' hysterical hatred
of Germany boils over.

The diplomats play their cards.

Poland should strike.
Germany will strike back.

Then you have your grounds for war,
Mr. Chamberlain.

The man on the street
gets a different story...

handed out by England's
Jewish War Minister Hore-Belisha.

What is this?
Hitler wants war?

Poland is already in a state of war!

Here the homes and farms of the
ethnic Germans are already burning;

here the defenseless are massacred.

Thousands flee into the Reich.

The elderly, women, and children
who had been hiding in the forests

now slip across the border.

How much have these people
had to suffer?

Just because they are Germans!

The Luftwaffe
has swapped its airfields

with East Prussia, Pomerania,
and the Baltic Sea.

High Alert. Any hour can bring
the order for action.

Borders and coastline, large cities,
bridges and industry,

are under our protection.

The aircraft are camouflaged
against surprise attacks.

Bombs are loaded.

It's just like on maneuvers,
but now the bombs are live.

A dangerous cargo,
geared to break any resistance.

The engines are checked.

Fueling up.

It must be said.

Even the best airplane,
the most courageous crew,

are lost if the ground personnel
are not absolutely reliable.

Wabu means Arms Bunker.

Machine gun munitions are girded.

The MG in the bow is ready.

The last bomb is hung.
The bomb bay closes.

Woe betide if it opens
above enemy territory!

Germany's air power is ready.

Anyone who wants peace
must be armed for war.

The Führer still makes a final attempt
to rescue the peace.

The world holds its breath.

September 1!

Ambushes on Reich's territory!

Beuthen is shelled by Polish artillery.

Two are known dead,
thirty-five injured.

This is war!

Brake blocks away!

The German Luftwaffe
starts its first enemy flight.

Stukas.

Reconnaissance aircraft.

Seaplanes.

Fighters.

Bombers.

The first flight over enemy territory.

Deep into Poland's heart,
the German sword is thrust.

In cockpits and tailfins,
men are at their MGs.

Like flying fish, the fast fighters
pull alongside the bombers.

Pilots and observers
know their orders:

find military targets, march routes,
rail lines, airfields,

and supply columns.

Attention! Deployment road!

Get ready!

In the flight path, small tufts.
The Poles are shooting.

Just wait!
We will answer with bombs.

A last glance at the map.

There's the railway junction!

Ready...

Go!

Fire and smoke cover
junctions and rail lines.

German air power
has discharged a torrent of steel.

Course, homeward.

The mission is accomplished.

As the wind plays,

our fighters buzz around
the conquered air space.

On the flight back,
we see the effect of the air strikes:

Railroad tracks are torn up.

Stations lie in ash and rubble.

Long trains stand abandoned.

An indescribable chaos.

Beneath us the tattered land
looks like a cratered landscape.

We are in our home port,
back from our first sortie.

Hello, comrades of the ground crew!

There is work to do!

Yes, Sir! Let's do this!

When machines come back,
they are thirsty.

And we have to fly
a few more times today.

Like hungry maws,
the bays open for a new bombfeed.

A reconnaissance plane has landed.

They are the eyes of the Army.

They see deep into enemy territory,

and nothing stays hidden
from their cameras.

The photo lab is set up in a forest.

Specialists and trained teams evaluate

the strategic and tactical information
from the reconnaissance material.

This gives commanders the basis
for planning further operations.

These pictures reveal the strength
and weakness of the enemy.

These photos show what will be
put into action on our next flight.

Westerplatte,
Poland's bulwark against Danzig.

German Stukas
will hammer down on the bunkers.

Attention: Start the dive!

Direct hit on Westerplatte!

Back at base,
our Stukas are many kilos lighter.

But the lost weight
will soon be compensated.

There's a mishap.

An aircraft comes back
without its undercarriage.

Shot away.

A final loop over the field.

Start the belly landing.

Catch it slowly, do not flip!

Bravo!

You cannot make an omelet
without breaking eggs.

Our young Luftwaffe
has received its baptism of fire.

The experience thrills every heart,

and everyone is eager
to engage the enemy anew.

Discussing maps for the next mission.
We want to go again.

Bring up a new bomb!

You have to take your time
with such a heavy load.

Refueling finished,
now off to a new attack!

Dive-bomb attack on a freight yard!

Release!

Attention! Enemy column on the road!

Report of the Wehrmacht
High Command: On September 1st,

Report of the Wehrmacht
High Command: On September 1st,

the Luftwaffe attacks
many Polish airfields.

On the 2nd, the Luftwaffe furiously
strikes other military objectives.

September 3rd, the two air fleets have
absolute control of Polish air space.

In the following days,

the Luftwaffe supports the Army
by joining ground battle.

Military transports are bombed,

marching columns and trains
are attacked.

The enemy's retreat is thwarted.

We're in enemy territory to see
the ground after an air strike.

This is how all important military
targets were destroyed from the air

within a few days.

And here is what was left
of the Polish Air Force:

Skeleton after skeleton,
a pile of wreckage.

At Thorn, we capture
factory-new fighters.

These plucked birds never got to fly.

By the woods,
a camouflaged reconnaissance plane

falls into our hands.

At Bromberg, the Luftwaffe
occupies the first enemy airbase.

Craters are shoveled in,
and the runway is leveled off.

In just 12 hours, this Polish airfield
has become a German one.

But Polish signs
forbid unauthorized entry.

We're flying from Bromberg to Thorn.

The railroad station in Bromberg.

Air-raid trenches, bomb hits.

The Poles did not leave
a single bridge undamaged.

Between Polish flight
and German advance,

all bridges are destroyed.

The Weichsel River.

Between Bromberg and Thorn,
between the Brahe and Weichsel,

is ancestral German land.

Ethnic Germans cross over
to their liberated homes.

The advance goes on.

The September sun is hot.

Dust hangs over Poland like fog.

And impassable as this land may be --

Poland's bad roads have been called
her Maginot Line --

the German advance continues.

It is unstoppable.

Report from Wehrmacht
September 10th:

Many units near Radom
are surrounded.

To support the Army, air formations
join in the ground fighting.

The Wehrmacht High Command
announces: On September 11th,

the surrounded Polish group at Radom
has ceased to exist.

The number of prisoners
cannot be assessed yet.

The great battle in Poland
is approaching its climax.

On September 12th,

the ring around the Polish capital
is closed to the east.

Nine Polish divisions
and three cavalry brigades

are surrounded in the Kutno arena.

Desperate attempts by the enemy
to break through are thwarted.

The unit's concentric counterattack
is in full swing.

Again on the 13th,
Polish troops seek a way out.

The ring around Kutno
is strengthened and tightened.

On the 14th, more desperate
counterattacks are thwarted.

Camp log: By the 15th,
the Polish Army is encircled.

September 16: Kutno is taken.

The retreat to Warsaw is also cut off.

About a quarter of the Polish Army

is cramped together
awaiting dissolution.

Mass attacks by the Luftwaffe
hasten the dissolution.

September 17. The last day
of the battle for the Polish campaign,

the annihilating blow.

The Luftwaffe joins the ground battle.

Long dust trails are churned up.

We are over the battlefield
between the Weichsel and the Bzura.

And now, on with
the death and destruction!

Bombs rain from the sky!

A hailstorm of steel.

Smoke and flames mark the retreat
of the shattered Polish Army.

Squadron after squadron
take off late into the evening.

Each crew flying six, seven,
or eight missions -- a hot day!

Once more we take off
to experience the nightly battlefield.

Once more we take off
to experience the nightly battlefield.

We will never forget
the images of this flight.

Below us the Bzura,

the river where nine Polish Divisions
met their fate.

The Weichsel.

A heavy thunderstorm
lies over the river.

Modlin, the last fortress
before Warsaw.

The battlefield, blaze upon blaze.

All around a burning landscape.

Next morning we drive to the area
where Poland's defeat was sealed.

This is Sochaczew,
the bridgehead on the Bzura.

The wind spreads the fire
from house to house.

Air-signal-corps troops
are among the first in the city.

The communications between leaders
and the front must never be disrupted.

In long columns, the defeated army
moves through the streets.

The war is behind them.

Ahead is captivity.

We're on the road
from Sochaczew to Wyszogrod.

It's the road of the lost divisions.

Here perished the Polish Army

that tried to withdraw to Warsaw
after the battle of Kutno.

Not a single man from these
nine divisions reached Warsaw.

The pass through the Bzura...

Napoleon's crossroad
over the Berezina.

And now on this road of horror,
the first refugees return,

victims of the ruthless warmongers.

The great German victory
was not obtained without losses.

The Ju 52 is used
as a military hospital,

safely transporting those who could
only be saved by an operation

to Berlin in just two hours.

The Weichsel battle has ended.

The Polish Army is destroyed
in just 18 days.

This war cannot go down in history

as the obliteration
of a small, poorly equipped force

by a modern giant army.

The German soldier had to fight
a well-armed opponent,

often while badly outnumbered.

The advance continues
across the Bzura toward Warsaw.

From the Wehrmacht Report
of September 20:

only Modlin and Warsaw
still offer resistance.

We must consider
the magnitude of the Polish defeat

to grasp the criminal madness
with which the people in Warsaw

were persuaded
that Poland was not yet lost.

Charred villages,
burned in battle or in retreat.

Only chimneys remain,
like tombstones in a graveyard.

Below us the Weichsel, sand-choked
and ruined, like Poland's life blood.

Demolished bridges,
blocked waterways.

There are prison camps
throughout the land.

Poland's rail network
has been torn apart by the Luftwaffe.

Those were supply trains.

This was a railway embankment
where a munitions train stood.

Our Stukas hit with deadly accuracy.

Poland is lost!

But her leaders still hope
for a miracle of England's favor

promised them by the lying London
radio network until the very last day.

It is the final battle
for Poland's capital.

The bombardment of the forts
has begun.

The outer forts are taken.

The Poles withdraw into the inner city.

Our troops stand in the suburbs.

In the burning suburbs,
the mob is looting.

An armored train
hurled from the tracks like a toy.

Okecie, the capital's airport,
is a picture of devastation.

Our bombers finished it off
in the first days of the war.

Warsaw's position is hopeless.

The German High Command
drop leaflets on the city.

At the airfields around Warsaw,

the Luftwaffe
is limited to reconnaissance.

It has gotten cold,

but an improvised barracks helps.

The days are spent waiting.

The German warning is unheeded.

Warsaw will not be reasonable!

The white flag along a street?
Surrender?

No!

Diplomats and foreigners
seek German protection.

In Warsaw, madness still triumphs.

The city commandant
compels the people to resist,

making the open city a fortress.

September 25: Luftwaffe orders.

The Luftwaffe is ordered
to break military resistance

in the Luftwaffe's
last operation of the campaign.

Even the Ju 52 see action.

There, Warsaw on September 25th.

The drama of a city draws to a close.

The bombardment begins at dawn.

The flames rise from Warsaw's
fortifications, batteries, and trenches.

After only a few hours,

a dark gray curtain of smoke
drifts over the houses.

Now it shows
what a monstrous crime it was

to make Poland's capital a fortress

and to call the populace
to senseless resistance!

Between flights,
a bite from the field kitchen.

Then it's back over the city.

Flight after flight.

The wind drives the smoke eastward.

The sun glares off
the white cumulus clouds.

The heat of the flames
raising them in bizarre formation

like a gigantic mountain range.

Below it lies Hell.

36 hours later, Warsaw surrenders.

The German Wehrmacht
have struck their blow.

Now the weapons are silent.

Weapons at the ready, our guards
stand at the outskirts of the city.

After frightful days and nights,

the starving populace leave
their cellars and fill the streets.

No one is allowed to leave the city,
except for a group of orphans.

During the negotiations,
we fly over the city again.

Without bombs this time.

Mister Chamberlain
is to accompany us on this flight!

What do you say now,
Mister Chamberlain?

Here you can see for yourself
the catastrophe you have wrought.

Don't you fear the curse
of a people betrayed?

Here is the result
of your ruthless war politics!

This is all your doing!

An offense you will have to answer for
before the judgment of world!

And take heed,

this is how it is
when the German Luftwaffe strikes.

It will know how to find
the most guilty of all.

Our Warsaw flight is over.

The shadow of our aircraft
glides over the negotiations...

as the curtain falls
on this Polish drama.

The surrender is signed.

Commandant and mayor
return to the city

to perform their last official act.

The march out begins that night.

One can understand the good spirits
of these prisoners,

knowing they are
ethnic German students

who were drafted
into the Polish Army.

The withdrawal continues
into the next day.

Railway workers.

Firefighters.

On the morning of September 28th,

the German advance guard
marches into Poland's capital.

Barricades.

The main train station.

Bombed underground tracks.

The military headquarters in Warsaw.

Officers of two fronts
face one another

as surrender terms are read out.

German troops march
across Pilsudski Square.

But at the city gates
the rest of a defeated army gather.

While those in power fled abroad
like cowards shirking their duty.

With man and horse and wagon,
the Lord has struck them down!